Summer at Sheltered Shrubs
by xCharmCandyx
Summary: Arnold and his grandparents go to Sheltered Shrubs for the summer. Little does he know that as soon as he sets foot in Sheltered Shrubs, he's going to get some attention.
1. Chapter 1  Just another summer morning

This is my first fanfic and it's a crossover between Hey Arnold! and As Told By Ginger. Events in this story take place the summer before The Jungle Movie. I hope you enjoy!

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN HEY ARNOLD! OR AS TOLD BY GINGER.**

* * *

><p>Chapter One - Just Another Summer Morning<p>

**Arnold's POV**

"Rise and shine Arnold!" Grandpa said right after he entered my room

"Why are you waking me up so early?" I asked Grandpa while he was opening the curtains

"Don't you remember, today's our vacation to Sheltered Shrubs" Grandpa said to me

For a minute or two, I went clueless about this family vacation thing, really. I slowly got up from my bed and looked out to my window and after a few minutes, then I remembered, we're supposed to leave for Sheltered Shrubs today.

"Arnold, breakfast is ready!" Grandma said as she entered my room

"I'll be down there in a while, Grandma!" I said to her

"Arnold, don't forget your suitcase and you better hurry, we don't want to miss our flight, would we?" Grandpa said before he left my room

"Okay Grandpa!" I said

I haven't finished packing, I've only packed half of my suitcase. I don't know why? Maybe I don't really like the idea of going to Sheltered Shrubs, from the name of the place itself, it sounds like some place that's not for me...I mean it doesn't sound like a big city's name to me. I've been used to being a city boy, you know. I just hope I would prove myself wrong about that 'coz I'm pretty sure Grandma and Grandpa won't leave me behind.

I finished my packing and I found Helga's necklace on my desk drawer. She gave me this necklace on the last day of school and I just left it on my desk drawer. I don't really have feelings for her and I wouldn't like everyone in my house to find out about this. They might just start teasing me with Helga again. Don't even remind me of the last time they did that!

I wore Helga's necklace which had a football pendant on it. It may look awkward but I guess Helga gave it from her heart so maybe I should go ahead and wear it.

I continued with my packing and I brought a few comics along just incase i get bored. I later closed my suitcase and dragged it to the living room. Heck! It was heavy. We're staying there for a week although I don't know where we will be staying but I just hope it won't reek or something.

_In the kitchen_

"Arnold! Would you pass the eggs!" Grandma asked me.

"Sure Grandma!" I said.

Grandpa and Grandma were looking at me suspiciously, it seems that they saw my necklace. I silently continued eating and Grandma and Grandpa went back to what they were talking about. Everything went well until Grandpa's attention was diverted to me.

"Arnold." Grandpa said

"Yes?" -Me

"What's that on your neck?" Grandpa asked. Oh Snap! He just noticed my necklace! Damn it!

"Just a necklace from my friend." I said.

"Oh! I didn't see you wear that yesterday. Just asking." Grandpa said

_Phew! _I thought the teasing was going to come back again. Thank God Grandpa didn't go further! I continued eating and Grandpa and Grandma went back to their business. Minutes later, we finished eating and then Grandpa called for a cab to pick us up at home while Grandma checked if our tickets are complete and so far, so good! We later placed our baggage at the sidewalk and said goodbye to the people we left at the apartment. A few minutes after that, our cab arrived and we hopped into the cab. My family vacation just started!

After 5 minutes, our cab arrived at the airport and we went inside the terminal building to check in our baggage. Our baggage counter was pretty far, it was in the other end of the terminal building. The line was a bit long in the check-in counter that we're going to line up in. A lot of people must have thought that going to Sheltered Shrubs will be a very good idea for a summer vacation.

_After 30 minutes of lining up at the check-in counter_

"Next!" the lady in the baggage check-in counter called

"We're checking in 3 bags." Grandpa said as he walked up to the check-in counter

Grandpa and I lifted our baggage to a platform that was kinda like a conveyor belt, only that it drops the baggage straight to another platform which also looks like a conveyor belt. Before we left to look for our boarding gate, the lady gave us our boarding passes and we went straight to pay for our travel taxes and went through inspections before we could find our boarding gate. Looking for the boarding gate was also a long walk.

I was thinking to myself "_What should I get Helga? What if I fall for a different girl? What if Sheltered Shrubs is really the middle of nowhere? Will I ever survive this vacation?"_. The next thing I knew, scenes of my vacation there going haywire started to play in my mind as we kept walking to our boarding gate.

"Arnold!" Grandpa called me

"Uh...yes, Grandpa" -Me

"Is everything alright?" He asked me

"Yes Grandpa, you have nothing to worry about" I reassured him

"There's our boarding gate!" Grandma said to us as she pointed to Boarding Gate #15

"Let's go, we're boarding in ten minutes!" Grandpa said to us

_Boarding Time_

"Falcon Airlines Flight 435 bound for Sheltered Shrubs is now ready to accept passengers. Please proceed to Boarding Gate #15 for your boarding." The lady over the airport's PA system said.

Grandpa gave us our boarding passes and like what I said before, the line was so long and it took us ten minutes before we had our turn. Right after that, we walked through the tarmac and we finally made it into the plane. The next thing we did was find our seats and we got thrown to the far end of the plane. Looks like Grandpa got us last-minute tickets or something. We took our seats and put on our seatbelts. Minutes later, the stewardess informed everyone via the PA system of the plane about the flight info and the flight safety video was shown. Halfway through the flight safety video, our plane already took off.

I'm about to say hello to Sheltered Shrubs!


	2. Chapter 2  Welcome to Sheltered Shrubs!

"We have now arrived to our destination. Welcome to Sheltered Shrubs! Passengers are required to stay in their seats and keep their seatbelts fastened until the plane has come to a full stop." The flight stewardess said via the airplane's PA system.

"I hope I get to enjoy my vacation here in Sheltered Shrubs." I said to myself.

"Arnold, we're in Sheltered Shrubs now. Aren't you excited?" Grandpa asked me.

"Of course I am." I said. Truth is I'm not really that excited. I mean what if I miss out all the fun things that are happening in Hillwood right now?

"Thanks for flying with us at Falcon Airlines! We hope you enjoy your stay here in Sheltered Shrubs!" The flight stewardess thanked the passengers as the plane came to a full stop.

We later unbuckled our seatbelts and stood from our seats as we slowly made our way out of the plane. A flight stewardess stood by the plane's door and thanked the passengers for flying at their airline. Fresh air greeted us as we got down from the plane. The weather was simply perfect.

We entered into the building where the baggage claim area was and after a security inspection, we went straight to the baggage claim area to claim our baggage. It was a good thing that there were only a few people who were waiting for their baggage and in less than five minutes, we got our baggage and when we walked out of the building, a red haired lady approached us.

"Uncle Phil! Aunt Pookie!" The red haired lady said as she hugged both Grandma and Grandpa

"Lois!" My grandparents exclaimed

"Arnold! You have already grown!" Lois said to me

"Don't you remember, she's your Aunt Lois, your dad's cousin." My grandma said to me. Honestly, I can't remember seeing Aunt Lois before, maybe I was really little when I first saw her.

"Anyway, we have to go now. I still have a shift later." Aunt Lois told us.

Aunt Lois led us to her car which was parked right across the street. Her car is a blue Volkswagen beetle that looked like it has been in her possession for like more than a decade. We placed our baggage at the back of her car and it was a good thing that our stuff fitted in there, otherwise, we would not have a good ride. Grandpa and I sat on the back seat and Grandma sat on the passenger's seat at the front and Aunt Lois drove the car.

"So? Are we ready to go?" Aunt Lois asked us.

"Yup, we are!" Grandpa and Grandma said in an excited tone.

"Okay then, let's go!" Aunt Lois said to us.

We drove out of the airport and while we were in the car, I was looking at the window and I saw what Sheltered Shrubs has to offer us. It was no "Middle of Nowhere", in fact, it's a lot like Hillwood only that it's less crowded. Grandpa, Grandma and Aunt Lois were talking in the car. Scenes of me having fun in this vacation were already playing in my mind. As we passed by an intersection, the red light of the traffic lights came on and we had to stop. To pass time, Aunt Lois decided to have a conversation with me.

"So Arnold? How's life? I heard you had a crush on a girl named Helga." -Aunt Lois

"Life's fine and I don't like Helga." I told her

"You mean the Pataki girl your grandpa told me isn't your crush?" Aunt Lois asked me

"She was never my crush." -Me

"Anyway Arnold, are you ready to meet your cousins?" -Aunt Lois

"No problem. It's a pleasure to meet them." -Me

Just as I answered Aunt Lois' last question, the green light came on and we turned to the left side of the intersection and then after 10 minutes of driving, we drove into a street where the Foutley residence was. Aunt Lois later parked her car into her garage and she led us into their house. Just as she opened the door, some kid in a mask showed up and tried to scare us and Aunt Lois told the kid to stop it.

"Carl, will you stop that!" Aunt Lois told the kid

"Mom...I was about to scare them." Carl told his mom as he walked away from us

"Don't mind Carl, he's just trying to pull a prank on you guys." Aunt Lois told us. "Drinks, anyone?" she added.

We followed Aunt Lois into the kitchen for our drinks, grandpa and grandma decided to have some coffee and I had some orange juice and Aunt Lois told us how her day went and everything like that. Right after that, Aunt Lois led us to the living room where we found some red headed girl watching TV. I had no idea who she was but I bet she's one of my cousins.

"Ginger!" Aunt Lois said to the girl

"Yes mom?" -Ginger

"Your grandpa Phil and grandma Pookie are here!" -Aunt Lois

Ginger ran to grandpa and grandma and gave both of them a hug. I wonder how long has it been since the last time they've seen each other and I don't remember reading stuff about this in that journal.

"Ginger, meet Arnold, he's your cousin from Hillwood." -Aunt Lois

"Uh...hey Arnold! It's nice to meet you." Ginger shyly told me

"Nice to meet you too, Ginger!" I told her as I shaked her hand

"Okay Ginger, lead the visitors to their rooms." Aunt Lois instructed Ginger

"Yes mom." -Ginger

We followed Ginger to the second floor of her house and she led us to our room which was at the end of the hall. The room was tidy and cozy and there are two single beds in it. We put down our things beside the dresser and before Ginger left us, she told us that if we needed anything, we can always ask her or her mom about it.

We opened our luggage and placed our clothes inside the dresser and while I was packing my things out, I was thinking of Hillwood. I was thinking of the good things that must be going on there, I was thinking about what Gerald and Sid might have been doing there or how Helga was feeling right now. After we packed out our stuff, Grandpa told us that we're going around Sheltered Shrubs tomorrow and to tell you, the idea is actually exciting, you know.

* * *

><p>"Uncle Phil, Aunt Pookie, Arnold, dinner's ready!" Aunt Lois called from downstairs<p>

Grandpa, Grandma and I went down to the stairs and we went straight to the dining room where I saw Aunt Lois, Ginger and Carl sitting on the dining table.

"Take a seat you guys." Aunt Lois said to us

We took our seat and said our Grace Before Meals before we ate. Grandpa and Grandma had a conversation with Aunt Lois and they're talking about the typical stuff that adults talk about as Ginger, Carl and I ate silently, this was until Carl broke the silence between the three of us.

"Hey Arnold! So where are you from?" Carl asked me

"I'm from Hillwood...it's really an awesome place and all, you know." -Me

"Interesting." Carl told me

"Anyway Arnold, mind if I introduce you to my friends tomorrow right after we go around town?" -Ginger asked me

"Sure, no problem Ginger." -Me

"Carl! Will you please pass the chicken?" -Aunt Lois

"Sure!" Carl said as she passed the chicken to his mom

"Would you like some Arnold?" Aunt Lois asked me

"Sure Aunt Lois." I replied to Aunt Lois

We had a good meal and right after that, we went to the living room to watch some movies. Aunt Lois made me choose what we wanted to watch and I picked up some adventure film. Ginger got us some microwaved popcorn to eat while watching the film and Carl got us some drinks. The movie ran for almost two hours and it was already ten in the evening when the movie ended. Right after the movie, we went upstairs to wash up and we went to sleep.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow's events.


	3. Chapter 3 You're Invited!

**Here's the third chapter for this fanfic. I haven't updated this fanfic for a long time already but anyways, enjoy the third chapter!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own ATBG and Hey Arnold! Nickelodeon owns them.**

* * *

><p>"Rise and Shine Shortman! We still have a long day ahead! " Grandpa said to me<p>

I got up from bed and went straight to the toilet room to take a bath then we went down to the dining room to have some breakfast.

"Hey Arnold! Did you sleep well?" Aunt Lois asked me

"Yup! I did." -Me

"How about you Aunt Pookie and Uncle Phil?" Aunt Lois asked grandpa and grandma

"We had a really good sleep! Nice matresses by the way." -Grandpa & Grandma

"Thank you!" -Aunt Lois

Right after breakfast, we went inside the car and we drove out of Aunt Lois' house and we drove to Downtown Sheltered Shrubs. When we arrived there, the first thing we did was go to some videogame arcade where Carl and I played a lot of videogames. This is just to prove that my assumptions of Sheltered Shrubs is wrong, this place actually has videogame arcades, Ginger even said that there are four of them here in the downtown. I'm starting to treat this place like my second home.

"Watch out Arnold! You're getting a K.O.!" Carl said to me playfully

"Not if I give you the K.O. first!" I told Carl

We started pressing a lot of buttons while holding on to the joysticks and this is already the third and final round of the game. Carl has beaten me two times. How many times in a week does he hang out in here, anyway? The way Carl has beaten me in the first two rounds reminds me of how Helga used to beat me in the few times we played video games at Gerald's house.

"Game Over! Player 1 wins!" The voice-over in the video game said.

"Player 1! That's me! I have won this round! Finally! Beat that Carl!" I playfully boasted to Carl while I pointed to the screen of the arcade game

"You win this time but the next time...You better watch out, Arnold." Carl said to me playfully

* * *

><p>After playing in the arcade for like an hour, we decided to get lunch on a nearby restaurant and then we hopped into the car and off we went to Lucky Memorial Museum. When we arrived there, Aunt Lois got us the admission tickets and then we started our guided tour in the museum. Sheltered Shrubs has gone through a lot from what I have learned. In fact, some Gripling clan were said to be the first inhabitants here and they were also known to be one of the biggest clans in Sheltered Shrubs. I have also learned that Ginger's grandpa (and also my grandpa, maybe a distant grandpa), Reginald Foutley was a war hero during the Second World War. I've never heard of that in History class. I guess Ginger, Carl and their family must be pretty proud about that.<p>

When we walked out of the museum, a blonde girl approached us and she talked to Ginger.

"Hey Ging! I'm going to have a pool party tomorrow at 3pm, I hope you and your friends could come over" Courtney told Ginger

"And by the way...Who's that cute boy?" Courtney said in a flirtatious tone

"Courtney...that's my fourth grader cousin, Arnold." Ginger said with a hint of awkwardness

"Take him to the pool party, too!" Courtney said as she left

I'm excited to go to the pool party and all but it's just that I'll be the only fourth grader around...all of them are in Middle School and Courtney's one heck of a pretty girl but she's in middle school and I'm a grade schooler and what the heck would be Helga's reaction she finds out that I fell for another girl? She might end up being meaner to me and to honestly tell you, I wouldn't want that to happen.

Right after that, we drove to the cinema and we watched a horror movie where New York gets invaded by zombies and did I forget to mention that the movie is on 3D? It was pretty awesome...good thing my grandparents never get heart attacks from horror movies. And right after that, we went back home.

* * *

><p>At home.<p>

"Ginger, I'm going to cook us some dinner, please look after Carl for me." Aunt Lois said from the kitchen.

"Okay mom." - Ginger

**Ginger's POV**

As soon as I got my hands on the telephone, I immediately dialed Dodie's number and called her up.

"Good Afternoon, This is Mrs. Bishop speaking. What can I do for you?" Mrs. Bishop said from the other line

"It's Ginger here and I would like to speak to Dodie." I said to Dodie's mom

"Dodie! Ginger wants to speak to you on the phone." Mrs. Bishop said from what I believe is the staircase of their house.

*after a few seconds*

"Dodie Bishop speaking! Oh, it's you, Ginger! Hey Ginge, have you heard of Courtney's pool party tomorrow?" Dodie said to me

"That's why I called, Dodie has invited you, me and Macie to her party...and...she also invited my cousin, Arnold, too." I said to Dodie with a hint of doubt

"Yeah, that cousin of yours you told me about. I wonder if he's cute?" Dodie asked me

"I bet he is." -Me

"What time is the pool party anyway?" -Dodie

"3 in the afternoon...by the way, lets meet at my house." I said to Dodie "and I do need advice right now...should I take Arnold with me to the pool party? He's like a fourth grader and we are in middle school, he might feel left out if he goes to the party, you know?" I added

"Ginge, well, it's up to you but if I were in your place, I'd take Arnold with me...besides, Courtney thinks he's cute so there's no trouble to it." Dodie said to me.

"Uh, Dodie...it might not turn out well, you know...what if something happens to Arnold? What if Arnold won't enjoy it." I asked Dodie worriedly

"Trust me Ginger, everything will be just fine." Dodie reassured me

"Uh...bye Dodie..." I said to Dodie before we hung up

I dialed Macie's number on the phone next...it took me two tries before she picked up the phone.

"Hello! Lightfoot residence, this is Macie speaking." -Macie

"Um...Hello Macie! It's Ginger." -Me

"Ginger! How has your day been?" -Macie

"It's just okay...by the way, I called to tell you that Courtney's having a pool party tomorrow at 3pm." -Me

"Cool!" Macie said excitedly

"Macie, let's meet at my house tomorrow at 2:30 in the afternoon, and yeah, I'm bringing my fourth grade cousin, Arnold to the party. It's Courtney's request." -Me

"Okay then. I'll be at your house at 2:30 tomorrow afternoon. See you, Ginge!" Macie said as she hung up the phone.

Right after I made my phone calls, I went straight up to my room and I chose a bathing suit to wear for tomorrow, I have three of them, the first one's an orange one-piece swimsuit I got for Christmas back in sixth grade but it still fits me, though. The second one's a turquoise tankini with pink and brown stripes on it and I got it at a discounted price at the mall last year and the third one's a pink bikini with deep pink accents on it and my mom got it for me at the mall last week. I chose the second bathing suit for tomorrow. I don't want to look too flashy and I've only worn it twice.

* * *

><p><strong>Arnold's POV<strong>

"Dinner's ready everyone!" Aunt Lois said from the kitchen

"Arnold, dinner's ready." Grandpa said to me from the door of the guest room

I went down with Grandpa to the dining room and we took our seats. Suddenly, I felt something holding my leg and when I went down, I found a boy wearing a monster mask and a pair of monster gloves, I wasn't really creeped out because Harold already tried this prank on me back in second grade and it was kinda creepy...though it didn't fail for the kid's part because right after I saw him, he started growling and he got grandpa, grandma and Ginger's attention but it was a good thing none of them got freaked out but Aunt Lois was pretty disappointed with the kid who appeared to be Carl.

"Carl Foutley, what did I tell you about not scaring the visitors." Aunt Lois said disappointedly

"I'm sorry mom." Carl said apologetically

"I apologize for what happened. I'm really sorry." Aunt Lois apologized to us

"No problem Lois, in fact, Carl's pretty amusing, you know." Grandma said to Aunt Lois

Right after that, we said our graces then we had dinner and my grandparents were talking to Aunt Lois about how I grew up so fast, like one minute, I was just a little kid, the next, a girl from middle school has already fallen for me...they even talked about how Courtney and I were "meant for each other." For me, I don't think I'll ever fall for Courtney, Helga's perfect, she may not be a girly girl, she might not be that rich, she might not be that popular but she is already perfect for me.

"Arnold, would you really like to come with me to the pool party?" Ginger asked me with a hint of doubt

"Ginger...actually..." but before I could finish what I was saying, Grandma said to Ginger, "You should really let Arnold come with you, it's going to help him a lot."

"Yeah, let the kid come. I'm sure he'll like Courtney." Grandpa added

"Yeah, let Arnold come." Aunt Lois added

"Uh...grandma, grandpa, Aunt Lois..." but before I could finish what I was saying, Aunt Lois said. "You'll be fine there."

"Um...sure...I'll go with Ginger." I answered

"Good!" Aunt Lois said


	4. Meanwhile in Hillwood

**A/N: I know, I haven't updated this one for a long time but here's the fourth chapter and I hope you guys will enjoy it. Please don't forget to R&R right after reading and make sure not to go too harsh on your reviews. Constructive criticisms are appreciated. (if necessary) Also, the text in Italics are the thoughts of the characters and there's an OC in this chapter. (and possibly on the next few chapters, as well)**

**DISCLAIMER: ATBG and Hey Arnold! are the properties of Nickelodeon and Viacom. I don't own them in any way.**

* * *

><p>Meanwhile in Hillwood, the Patakis were having dinner and this one was no ordinary dinner, it was a celebratory dinner for Olga who just graduated from college.<p>

"I would like to propose this toast to Olga G. Pataki who has just graduated from college." Big Bob said

Right after that, everyone did a toast and started with dinner. Olga was busy talking about college and her new found boyfriend while Helga was annoyed as usual.

**Helga's POV**

"_How I wish I could excuse myself from this._" Helga said to herself_  
><em>

"Ben Fowler is a really nice guy. He's such a gentleman. In fact, he took me out on a date in one of Vermont's finest restaurants for Valentine's Day." Olga said to her family

"_It's always Ben Fowler this, Ben Fowler that. When will Olga stop getting into my nerves about her oh-so-nice boyfriend?_" Helga said to herself again

"Tell us more." Miriam and Big Bob said to their daughter

"And did I forget to mention that he got us the front-row seats to Dino Spumoni's concert!" Olga said

"Well what do you know? Our daughter has just graduated from college and he even got himself a new guy with the nice personality." Bob said

"Say Olga, mind if we meet this guy one of these days?" Miriam asked her daughter in a drunk-like voice

"Sure! Actually, Ben has invited me to visit him in his hometown on Sheltered Shrubs this summer and he said it would be good if I brought my family along" Olga said

"_Sheltered Shrubs...that's where Arnold is right now._" Helga said to herself

"Then I guess we're heading to Sheltered Shrubs first thing tomorrow!" Big Bob announced

"_First thing tomorrow, I'm gonna look for Arnold. I'm just going to make sure my plan doesn't_ _backfire._" Helga said to herself

**Olga's POV**

"Hello! This is Ben Fowler speaking." Ben said on the phone

"Hey Ben! It's Olga here. I've got some great news!" I said to Ben

"What is it, Olga?" Ben asked me

"Well, my family and I are going to Sheltered Shrubs tomorrow!" I excitedly said to Ben

"Uh...okay, so I should be ready." Ben said to me

"Bye Ben!" I said to Ben

**Meanwhile at Ben's**

_"I can't believe it! Olga Pataki's coming here tomorrow, with her family! What should I do? What was I thinking when I told Olga that she and her family are welcomed to visit me in Sheltered Shrubs. What am I going to do?" _

Ben Fowler was already in a state of panic right after he received Olga's phone call. "_What am I supposed to do when her parents are here?_" Ben asked himself. Ben's house wasn't really his house, it's just an apartment he rented because he wanted to be independent from his parents.


End file.
